Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz 2019

The colour is fabulous, the hue of the mulberries, picked straight off the tree, that stained my lips in the summers of childhood. Violets and liquorice, blueberry syrup. So enticing you want to dive in. The sweet baking spices that greet you when arriving at the house of a dear friend who just happens to have cookies in the oven.

Bright and juicy on the palate, with lashings of black fruit and star anise. A little time reveals earthy, savoury charcoal, vanilla-scented blackberry pie and dark chocolate shavings. Full bodied and rich with silky smooth tannins offering enough structure to promise graceful ageing. Drink with smoked beef short ribs cooked long and slow, sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, and fennel scented coleslaw.